Over the weekend I picked up a beautiful head of purple cauliflower at a local market. I bought it thinking that it might get Amalia to actually eat cauliflower (she hates cauliflower and broccoli) because it was so purple-y. I shared it on my IG stories and someone suggested making purple mac and cheese for her. Um, genius, as mac & cheese is 10/10 her favorite food.

All of the cauliflower mac & cheese recipes I found were baked or had breadcrumbs or focused on the cauliflower being in chunks. I wanted to blend it in so that the sauce itself was purple. Which to me looks quite odd but to a toddler looks like the best thing in the world.

So I roughly followed the Elsa’s Snowy Mac & Cheese recipe from the Disney Family Cookbook (a follower took a photo of it and sent it over) but switched a few things up and added blended purple cauliflower. It came out perfectly purple and shockingly delicious.

Not only did Amalia eat three servings, but she was interested in eating the purple cauliflower itself, marking the first time she’s ever even tried a piece of cauliflower that looks like cauliflower. I’m taking that as a mom win. It’s the little things these days, my friends.

I hope your kiddos enjoy this as much as mine did!

Kids Purple Cauliflower Mac & Cheese

6-8 servings

Ingredients:
– 1 tbsp olive oil
– 2 tbsp melted butter
– 3 tbsp flour
– 1 1/2 cups milk (we used goat milk)
– 2 cups shredded white cheddar cheese
– 1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
– 2 tsp salt
– 1 package elbow macaroni
– 1-2 cups cooked cauliflower (boiled or steamed)

Directions:
1. Cook pasta in salted water according to the box
2. Meanwhile, boil or steam cauliflower until tender (TBH I just did it in the same pot as the pasta while it was cooking)
3. Remove cauliflower with a slotted spoon and blend it with a bit of olive oil or butter in a blender or food processor. This could be done ahead of time.
4. In a large pot, whisk oil, melted butter, and flour for a few minutes until it thickens
5. Slowly add milk and bring to a simmer
6. Stir in cheeses, a little at a time, stirring
7. Add cauliflower and continue stirring until smooth
8. Season with salt
9. Add cooked pasta to the mixture and coat well.
10. Serve hot and enjoy!

Note: I added a few tiny pieces of the cauliflower to her plate too just to see if she would eat it and she did! So leave a few out if you want to try that too.